


Lucky Number 13

by SilverDragonMS



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Four (Linked Universe)-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shadow centric, Shadow returns, Then he goes on adventures with the LU boys, sometimes anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21840784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonMS/pseuds/SilverDragonMS
Summary: It starts off with a dream that has Four waking up in a daze, a familiar scene of a hand reaching out from a mirror the only thing he can remember from it.And it ends with the Thirteenth Link to join the party.[It's thirteen because Four counts as four people if you really think about it. Also, this is a one-shot collection where Shadow is now joining the LU boys. Potentially a plot could emerge, but I just want to have some fun with this idea.]
Comments: 62
Kudos: 360





	1. The Palace of the Four Sword

Ever since meeting the Hero of the Four Sword he had been on edge. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he had found a place dedicated to that very same sword the hero kept with him. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Four dressed in the same colors as those four dark beings. He wanted to ask, wanted to finally figure out what had happened and why it didn’t feel like fighting a normal enemy in that decrepit temple.

By the time the group ended up in Legend’s Hyrule, landing in the Dark World and quite close to the rundown palace, he knew it was only a matter of time until they found out. They set up camp in an abandoned building, Legend saying that he’d do first watch. With that dealt with, they all settled down for the night, while Legend’s mind ran wild. 

* * *

_It was dark, that was the first thing they noticed. The torches that lined the room were out, but they didn’t stop to light the way. They started to hurry, running to the end of the hallway and through the door._

_There was hardly any light, yet their feet seemed to know exactly where to go, turning left through another door. Through yet another hallway, they ran, and past a room with ankle-deep water. It was as if the water wasn’t even there. The next room had a pedestal for a sword. Their hand twitched, the blade at their side seemed to resonate with it. But, that wasn’t what they were looking for. Next to the stone, there was a shard of glass, small yet familiar in a way they couldn’t place._

_Picking it up, they found themselves in another room, this one with spikes in the corners and a dirt-covered floor. Past the room, there was another pedestal and a shard of glass beside it. Picking it up, they heard a voice. Small and barely there, but it was familiar. It spurred them on, finding themselves in an empty room again, and past it another stone pedestal and another shard of glass._

_The voice got louder, they ran through the next room, determined to find whoever was speaking to them. A fourth shard was picked up, and then they were in darkness. A hand was reaching towards them--_

* * *

Four shot up with a gasp. Breathing heavily as their mind caught up with the shared dream. They barely noticed Legend was talking to them until his hand was waving in their face.

Four slowly focused on the form in front of them, rubbing their eyes free from the tears that somehow appeared and threatened to spill over.

“You alright?” they heard Legend ask, and Four gave a small nod in response. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really…” Four whispered.

Legend grew quiet for a moment, then he stood and started heading back to his spot by the broken doorway. Four was tempted to try and go back to sleep, but something kept nagging at them.

“Hey Four,” Legend whispered, and Four jumped at the sudden noise pulling them from their thoughts, gaze snapping to Legend who was holding up a lantern. “Let’s go for a walk, I’ll get Hyrule to cover the watch.”

Four nodded, getting up from their bedroll and joining Legend outside the ruined house, waiting until a tired Hyrule peered out at them and waved them off. Legend began leading the way down the path and through a small outcropping of trees. In the distance, Four could see what looked like a pyramid of sorts. An involuntary shiver ran down their spine, the almost familiarity of the structure put them on edge.

Legend glanced at them for a moment, then pulled a small ocarina from his bag. 

“I figure it’d be faster this way. You don’t mind heights do you?” 

Four merely shook their head, confused at the question, until Legend played a few short notes on it and grabbed Four around the waist. They held onto Legend, and soon, a bird flew towards them, picking them both up with surprising strength and taking them high into the air and towards the pyramid. Once they landed, Four watched as Legend dusted himself off and led them to a gaping hole in the side of the structure.

“So, where is it that you’re taking me?” Four asked and Legend paused.

“On my first adventure, I came across this place.” He spoke, as they both wandered into the cave, a hallway filled with unlit torches in front of them. “I fought several enemies that I had previously encountered in my journey, but the end room? I fought four people, all looking like me, but wearing different colored tunics, much like the colors on your own.”

Four grew silent at that, what could they have said? That it was impossible? They already knew that the timeline the group had somehow scraped together put Four ahead of Time, with the rest coming thousands of years later. It would’ve made sense, except for the fact that Legend said he fought four people, not one. _What did that mean for the future?_

Four tried not to dwell on that fact, as they entered the doorway at the end of the hall. They saw the large doorway at the far side of the room, but for some reason, their gaze moved to a doorway to the left of them, and soon their feet moved on their own, with Legend merely following behind. They ignored everything in that next hall, paying little attention to the eerie damp and dark walkway and the spikes that remained motionless. They walked up the stairs at the end, once again ignoring the ankle-deep water to proceed to the next room where an empty stone pedestal stood.

Four couldn’t help but feel their chest clench at the sight, the sword on their back feeling heavier by seeing it. They placed a hand on it, and then looked back to see Legend shifting his feet uncomfortably.

“This was where the green sword laid,” he spoke, and Four nodded. Legend knew his secret then, at least partially.

Four moved to face Legend again, wanting to comfort the other or at least show that they weren’t upset when a faint glimmer off to the side of the stone caught their eye. They hurried over to it, and holding it in their hands, they saw a distorted reflection of themself.

“It can’t be,” they mumbled, and Legend made a questioning noise behind them. “You said four boys, four rooms, correct? You need to show them to me.”

Legend sighed but did indeed lead Four through the many hallways and rooms, and in each one where an empty stone pedestal laid, there was a glass shard off to the side. Four could feel their heart hammering in their chest, the slight feeling of their four parts growing nervous yet excited pushing them onwards. With each shard they picked up, Four could hear a barely-there whisper, though what it was saying was hard to make out, and soon, they found themselves through the large door and Four could barely hold still.

“Be careful here, the walkway is invisible,” Legend warned, but Four ignored him. Instead, let a feeling of familiarity lead them off the path. They could hear Legend freaking out behind them, a strangled noise escaping him as he hurried over to Four, and surprise at the fact that they were off the path and yet, neither of them was falling into the dark abyss below them.

On the other side of the room, there was a set of stairs leading down to where Legend thought was nothing but a pit, and yet, descending those stairs revealed a dusty room, a shattered mirror hanging up across the room. Four gasped at the sight, and Legend could see tears beginning to well up in the other’s eyes.

Four with faintly trembling steps approached it, the shards of glass that they found clutched in hand. Upon reaching it, the shards moved by themselves, slotting into place on the mirror’s frame. Once it was complete, the surface began to glow faintly, and Legend could only stare in shock as a hand reached through it. 

Soon, a gasping boy emerged fully from the mirror, cloaked in a darker version of Four’s own tunic. It wasn’t even a moment before the boy on the ground chuckled a bit.

“Heh, missed me?”

And soon Four joined him on the ground, kneeling and hugging onto him tightly, tears beginning to fall from their eyes.

“It’s been so long, I thought I’d never see you again,” Four’s voice trembled, and yet they were never happier as Shadow’s arms wrapped around them to hug them back.

Legend, on the other hand, stood with his mouth agape at the sight and took a deep breath in.

“Four, what the actual FUCK just happened?!”


	2. Trust and Mistrust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four and Legend return with Shadow, and the stage for the rest of the fic is set.

Once Legend had recovered from the shock of a person coming from out of a mirror, Four situated the now unconscious boy on their back and motioned for Legend to start leading them out of the Temple. It was uncomfortably quiet as they headed back to the ruined house the group had made camp in, and Legend internally groaned at the thought of Time getting mad at him for skipping out on watch with Four. Not to mention this other kid that just appeared out of thin air. Legend wanted to question Four so badly about him, but considering how emotional they were when they saw each other… Maybe it was best to wait until Four was ready to talk.

“So… what was with that Temple back there?” Four finally spoke, startling Legend out of his thoughts.

“Uh, what did you want to know?”

Four shrugged, as best that they could with the boy on their back. They thought about all that had happened for a moment, adjusting their hold on him, and then sighing.

“The pedestals where swords were supposed to be… I take it the fact that there were four of them kind of ruins my secret, huh.”

Legend thought about it, the fact that there were four boys dressed in the colors of Four’s tunic did give it away, and Four finally said as much.

“I guess, but now you’ve just confirmed it for me.” 

Four flinched at that, Legend snickering at their reaction.

“That’s fair… Can I ask what happened?”

Legend grew quiet. This wasn’t the conversation he wanted to have just yet. It’d been a long night, and while at first, he had wanted to ask, they had both gone through a lot in such a short amount of time.

“Maybe later… We gotta get back before the Old Man has a heart attack over us not being there.”

Four laughed, just a small bit and not with his usual energy, but it still caused Legend to smile in response.

* * *

By the time they reached camp the sun had already begun to peek through the overbearing clouds, casting a blue glow on the land around them. Wild was awake on the third watch shift and seemed to be looking through his Slate for what to make for breakfast, only raising a brow at them as they headed into the house. For a while, both heroes thought that they were in the clear, no one seemed to be awake, save for Wild who was outside. 

Four slowly began to lay the boy on his back down onto their bedroll, and as soon as he had been situated carefully, they sighed and sat next to him. Legend nodded towards them and was about to lay back down himself when a hand grabbed at his ankle. He yelped and promptly fell onto the sleeping form of Warriors. It only took a few seconds for him to bolt upright, waking up Wind who was next to him, who quite loudly cursed. And so, everyone else woke up in mixed states of panic and amusement. Four tried to stifle their laughter behind their hand as Warriors yelled at Legend for waking him up. Apparently, the Captain didn’t realize Twilight’s shit-eating grin from behind Legend.

It took a few minutes for Warriors to lose steam and stop yelling at Legend, tirade over, he ran a hand down his face and grumbled his way outside to where Wild was cooking. The rest shortly followed behind the Captain, save for Twilight, who slowly stood from his bedroll and looked at Legend. 

“Saw you two leave last night,” he spoke, and Four shifted closer to the still form on their bedroll, “You both have some explaining to do, you know.”

“Come on, it’s my timeline right now. I can navigate this place just fine.” 

Twilight rolled his eyes, beginning to walk towards the doorway, glancing towards the smith as he passed. The smaller hero instinctively moved to block Shadow from view, though they knew it wouldn’t change anything. Thankfully, the elder hero did not comment, turning away and continuing outside.

“We should probably join them,” Four flinched as they heard Legend speak, turning to look his way, “You want me to bring your food to you?”

Four shook their head, looking over the still unconscious Shadow. They knew he wouldn’t be awake anytime soon, at least, that’s what they thought. Four stood up, and followed Legend out of the house, taking a deep breath as he approached the other members of their group.

“--jerk woke me up!”

“Hey! That wasn’t my fault and you know it!” Legend yelled at Warriors, who was still fuming about being woken up.

Four chuckled at the two, grabbing a helping of the steamed fruit that Wild had made. It was nice for a while, everyone around them just chatting and fully waking up. Wild even made everyone warm milk once the main meal was cleaned up. It was quiet for a bit, everyone just enjoying the nice weather.

“So, Four,” Warriors spoke, and Four felt themself stiffen, “What were you and Legend doing last night? I saw that you had a third person with you.”

Carefully, Four set down their cup, the pieces in his mind beginning to swirl together. They steeled themself, trying to figure out how to explain that Shadow was a Dark Link, but don’t panic, he’s not evil… but that would only cause panic.

“He’s a friend… One I had assumed was dead after my last adventure.” 

“I felt dark magic coming from him,” Hyrule spoke up, the rest of the group looking concerned at their friend, “are you sure he’s really a friend? It just feels… like he’s corrupted.”

“Shadow is not evil!” Four leapt to their feet, startling the sailor next to them, “He’s not corrupted or anything either, he helped me save my Hyrule on my last adventure!”

“But how sure are you that he won’t turn on us?” Warriors asked, a serious expression on his face, and Four felt themself pause.

_ ‘They had no way of knowing… but they trusted Shadow. They had tried to find a way to get him back for **years** after all. If he turned on them...’ _

“Vio?” a quiet voice sounded from behind Four, and they whipped their head around to find the source.

There, leaning against the doorpost, was Shadow, looking so tired, and yet he seemed to light up once he caught sight of Four. Four started walking towards him, a smile working its way onto their face, only to stop when a hand closed around their wrist, smile fading as they turned and saw Twilight keeping hold of them.

“He’s a Dark.”

And Four’s heart dropped, seeing Warriors with his sword drawn, face set in a glare as he stood, Time and Hyrule both standing as well, looking ready to fight at any moment. Twilight seemed indecisive, looking between Four and Time, yet still keeping a hand around Four’s wrist. Four could feel their heart thunder in their chest

They struggled, Four wrenching their hand from Twilight’s hold, running towards Shadow and standing in front of him. Their mind was a mess, thoughts, and emotions running all over the place as their instincts screamed to _just move, take Shadow and run, they’ll hurt him, just **LEAVE** \--_

“Would you just stop!” Legend spoke, loud and startling the battle-ready heroes out of their mindset.

“Yeah, he didn’t even do anything yet, why are you guys ready to fight him already?” Wind joined in, and that at least made Hyrule sit back down sheepishly, guilt clear on his face.

The other two were not so easily swayed by the youngest’s words.

“Wind, you’ve never fought a Dark, have you.” Warriors spoke, and Wind looked away, scratching at the back of his neck, “They aren’t to be trusted. They’re dark reflections of the hero, of _us_. They're dangerous, Wind.”

“But maybe Four was right!” Wind practically shouted, startling the Captain, “If Four says that he’s good, then I trust what he says!”

Four couldn’t help but smile at the display, their pieces slowly settling down and becoming one again. They turned back to see Shadow, staring wide-eyed at the eight heroes, but when he looked back at Four, he smiled.

“Guess I’m stuck with you for a bit, huh? Hope you don’t mind me _shadow_ ing you.”

Four could hear groans from the other heroes, mixed with a few who were stifling their laughter, while Four just laughed out loud, the tense atmosphere lessening somewhat. 

It would be okay. If nothing else, Four wouldn’t let anything happen to him, not if they could help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, I have no plans. Just small ideas. Please feel free to comment ideas or leave them in my inbox on Tumblr, I have no more plans really... but if I get the angst brain cell, that may change.


	3. Talks and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets moving, Sky and Legend have a chat, and then they make it to a portal. Oh, and there's a bit of chaos.

They had left quickly enough, Legend saying that they shouldn’t linger in the Dark World for too long if they could help it. With that said, Four noticed the looks some of the other heroes would have upon catching sight of Shadow. They tried not to let it bother them as they packed up their bedroll and items, tried to ignore the others as they began to walk away from the house they spent the night in. It didn’t seem to bother Shadow, so why should it bother them?

“Hey, Vi—wait no, you go by Four now,” Shadow was currently defying gravity, floating lazily beside Four with a soft smile on his face, “Any idea where we’re headed? Or are we just wandering around aimlessly?”

“Both.”

Four laughed as he groaned, looking defeated while still floating along. They could hear Wind laughing further ahead, whether it was because of Shadow or something Wild had said was unclear, though they couldn’t help but smile at the youngest’s laughter. 

“You know, you aren’t nearly as fun when you’re all together. Why can’t you just spl—”

“Shadow! Shush!” Four hissed, smacking the other in the face in his desperate attempt to shut the dark up, “No one knows about that, so please shut up. We got lucky when you called me Vio before, that won’t happen twice.”

“I think it’s been three times now.”

Four turned to glare at the Veteran hero behind them, the smug bastard was smirking. They felt something wet on their hand, and with a screech, they tore their hand away from Shadow’s mouth, hearing his loud cackles.

“You suck,” Four whined, grabbing ahold of Shadow’s tunic to wipe their now spit-covered hand off.

“If I suck, then what does that make you?” 

“You two are ridiculous, you know that?” Legend called out, and once again Four glared, “You’re both acting like children.”

“And you’re a no-fun old man,” Shadow responded, dodging Four to float behind the Veteran hero, “Stop Four for me, why don’t ya.”

He rolled his eyes, watching the two start to chase each other, threats spilling from Four’s mouth while Shadow just cackled. A few of the heroes found it amusing, though others still seemed wary of the Dark’s presence. 

“Hey, Legend?” 

The Veteran tore his gaze away from the chaos, instead looking to Sky who had fallen into step beside him. The taller hero looked unsure, glancing at the two running around before looking back to Legend.

“What do you think of him?”

“Who? Shadow?” he questioned, the other nodding, “He’s Four’s friend, isn’t he? I admit, I’m not too sure if I fully trust the other, but I believe Four. If he says that the Dark is good, who am I to disagree?”

“You say that…”

“Listen, Sky, I had a few Dark Links terrorize me during my adventures. I know what they’re like, and that kid over there running away from the Smithy? He’s nothing like them.”

The two fell into silence, watching as Wind joined in the chase, now with Shadow egging the two on with playful insults. Legend could see how Warriors was keeping a close eye on the Dark as if he would turn and harm the youngest hero out of nowhere. The only other hero who seemed to hold no ill-will towards the Dark Link was Wild, the rest looking wary and talking amongst themselves. 

“Well… if nothing else, I think I’ll trust Four as well. Looking at everyone else,” Sky sighed, “The two of them need as many people on their side as they can get.”

“Glad to see you agree with me, flyboy.”

The Chosen hero looked confused at the statement, but Legend didn’t explain the new nickname, walking away to catch Shadow by the back of his tunic and stopping the game.

“I think that’s enough.”

“See? You’re a no-fun old man!” Shadow shouted, struggling in Legend’s grip to the amusement of the two smallest heroes.

“Hey, Veteran! The portal is up ahead!”

Legend snapped to attention, seeing that there was in fact an archway ahead of them, swirling dark magic painting the surroundings in a vibrant purple hue. He let go of Shadow, stepping up to the front of the group. He stepped forward slowly, hand outstretched first, and passed through to the other side.

Four watched as the rest of the group passed through, turning to Shadow who was staring at the portal apprehensively. 

“You okay?”

“This is what you’ve been using to travel? This shit is powerful and really dangerous.”

“Are you gonna be okay to travel through it?” Four asked.

“I think so… I’m gonna hide in your shadow just in case,” He responded, landing on the ground and jumping behind Four, “I just got back, I really don’t feel like leaving again so soon.”

Four found themselves agreeing, chuckling under their breath. Once Shadow gave the okay, they walked through to feel a strong breeze ruffle their hair and the quiet chatter that seemed to come from a small village. They opened their eyes, a vast expanse of clouds surrounding them and the wooden platform they were standing on.

“Hey, glad to see you made it,” Four turned to see Sky, arms outstretched and a huge grin on his face, “Welcome to Skyloft, the era of the Chosen Hero.”

“Don’t sound too full of yourself, you don’t want to catch Warriors’ ego.” Wild laughed, an offended gasp coming from the Captain.

“Is it over? Can I come out now?” Shadow called, startling Sky slightly from the sudden voice.

Four rolled their eyes.

“Don’t you mean ‘ _ may  _ I come out’?”

Shadow emerged quickly after that, shooting a glare at the Smith with arms crossed in front of him. Four just smiled smugly.

“You’re a jerk, why did I ever become friends with you?”

“No idea, but you love me, don’t even try to pretend otherwise,” Four laughed at the suffering sigh the other made, as though being near Four caused him pain.

Shadow stopped soon enough, mouth opening in surprise rather than suffering. He straightened out, gaze widening at the sight of the island in the sky. Four watched him shoot over to the edge of the platform, taking in the expanse of clouds and clear skies, the vast landscape stretching out below them. 

“This is—”

“How do you like it?” Sky asked, approaching Shadow despite the obvious nervous fidgeting, “It’s not much, but this is where I lived all my life, well, up until I finished my adventure.” 

“This is amazing,” Shadow smiled wide, looking up to see Loftwings circling overhead, “It’s like flying all over again.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Sky smiled.

“Hey, not to interrupt, but what’s the plan here?” Wild asked, walking over towards the other three, “It’s your Era, we’ve been here maybe once, and Time is about ready to leave if you don’t have a plan.”

“Well, I can’t say that I have much of a plan. I was going to talk to Headmaster Gaepora, see if he knows where Sun is,” Sky turned to Wild, “Do you think I can trust you guys to not cause trouble?”

Wild shrugged. 

“I’m going to regret this,” the Chosen Hero mumbled, sighing.

Four watched as Sky talked to the other heroes, most likely figuring out what needed to be done as far as getting supplies and maybe a place to stay. Once that was over with, Sky headed up the hill towards the Knight Academy. It was then, Four knew, Sky had made a terrible decision.

“Hey, Four,” Shadow smiled as he ran up and grabbed Four’s arm, “we should go exploring! C’mon, I wanna see more of this place!”

“Jeez, slow down! We need to make sure that we can even do that right now,” Four responded to the now scowling Shadow, “Besides, I have a feeling that a certain blue-tunic-wearing gremlin will want to join us.”

“You mean Wind?”

“Okay, so two blue-tunic wearing gremlins.”

They both laughed, Four heading over to where Time was standing near the center of the plaza. They were about to start speaking, mouth opened to ask if it was okay, only for the old man to wave them off.

“Just go, we’ve got everything covered.”

They could feel Shadow’s mood change from happy to anger in a matter of seconds, and it took a bit more effort to pull the boy away from the Old Man. Once they got away, Four sighed.

“Well… that went well.”

“About as well as a deku scrub with a torch.”

“Let’s just find the gremlins, I’m sure they’ve already started causing trouble.”

They were proven correct, finding the two blue-clad heroes near the river that passed through the center of the island. Wild had replaced his normal tunic with his Zora armor, Wind seemingly egging him on to do whatever crazy plan they had come up with. One look at the chaos-fueled glee on the Champion’s face was all the warning they got before he leaped straight into the river, paddling with all his might towards the waterfall. Four raised an eyebrow at Wind, though the Sailor either didn’t notice or didn’t care, Shadow was much the same, eyes practically gleaming with mischief.

“Okay, forget exploring, I wanna join and see what’s at the top of that waterfall!”

Four could only watch as Shadow grabbed Wind under the arms and raced over the water, easily passing Wild who was still struggling with the current, and floating up the fall, Wind cackling with glee the whole way up. Four could hear the celebrating from his place on the opposite shore, and watched as Wild attempted to scale the waterfall himself. Their heart lurched as Wild fell back into the water and got carried closer and closer to the edge.

“Shadow! Wild’s going over the edge!”

The words had barely left their mouth when a dark blur grabbed hold of Wild and dragged him to the opposite shore. Wind looked worried, leaping from the top of the falls and gliding on a leaf over to them. Four spotted the rock walkway, and taking a moment to ignore the prickle of anxiety, they leaped across, fear keeping them from lingering too long on the stones. When they made it across, it was just in time to see Shadow pushing Wild over.

“Not only are you a pain to carry, but you also couldn’t have said that you were terrible at swimming? You almost plummeted straight to your death!”

“Hey, he didn’t know he wouldn’t make it over there!” Wind yelled, and Four noticed the clenched fists of the youngest, “Wild’s not a terrible swimmer, the current was just too strong!”

“That’s a bad excuse.”

“Hey, how about we drop the subject!” Four shouted, thankfully interrupting whatever fight was about to break out, “Look, let’s just go and explore, okay? We didn’t come over here last time, and I think there was a cave nearby.”

The trio seemed to agree, Wind and Shadow avoiding each other's eyes as they both headed for the cave. Four sighed, extending a hand to the downed Champion.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little shaken up. I could’ve sworn that I would’ve made it. Oh well, I guess.”

“Think you’re up for checking out that cave?” Four couldn’t help but feel a small bit of concern for the other hero, but it was soon replaced by relief as the other nodded.

“Yeah, let’s make sure those two don’t kill each other.”

The Smith found that they now had something else to be concerned about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can thank Author (theauthorandtheartist) for this updating. We talked a bit and then inspired each other to write and update some fics. I've tried to write this chapter way too many times, and I just decided that it'll end here and the next chapter will pick up where this left off. No idea when I'll post the next chapter. Hope you enjoy ^u^


	4. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group explores the cave, only for monsters to attack. Sky fights back.

The cave was pretty small, the place already somewhat well lit from the holes leading to the outside high on the walls of the cavern. They could see Shadow looking around curiously, though he didn’t react as excited or happy about exploring as he had previously. Wind didn’t look very happy either, side-eyeing Shadow and barely even taking in the surroundings. 

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Four mumbled, quiet enough to not be picked up by the two further ahead, though Wild looked apologetic.

“I’m sure this won’t be a letdown, there has to be something here.”

“Hopefully, though I’m not so sure. I have a feeling Sky would’ve already explored this place thoroughly.”

It was quiet, save for the steady dripping of water from the ceiling and the far-off crashing of the waterfall outside. While the cave was plenty spacious, a few Keese here and there, and plenty of puddles of water, there wasn’t much else. A wall of vines led to an open chest, and a small hole in the wall led nowhere. It was disappointing for sure, and Shadow had only seemed to grow more annoyed at the lack of anything cool. By the time they reached the outside and the end of the pathway, Four could practically feel the annoyed resignation from both Shadow and Wind.

“Okay so maybe I was wrong,” Wild looked sheepish, avoiding everyone’s eyes and awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, “this was pretty disappointing.”

Shadow sighed dramatically, walking to the edge of the wooden platform and flopping down onto it, dangling his legs over the edge and most likely pouting with his chin propped up on his hand. Wind stood nearby him, arms crossed with a more obvious pout on his face as he leaned against one of the posts. It would have been funny, but the scene felt a bit too tense. Four just put a hand on Wild’s arm, offering a sympathetic smile and trying to convey that it really wasn’t his fault. They just sighed, watching the two grouchy boys as they looked at the wide expanse of clouds around them. 

In a way, it was peaceful. The steady sound of the wind moving past the small alcove they were in was pleasant, and closing their eyes for a moment, Four found that it was almost as though they were flying. It brought a bit of lightheartedness to the tense situation.

“Hey, sorry this exploring kind of sucked,” they spoke, though Wind and Shadow barely spared them a glance, “how about we go and do something else? This island is pretty big, there has to be something around here to do.”

Unsurprisingly, both of the grouches were stubborn and refused to move. 

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, Four,” Wild at least agreed, though the smile on his face was so obviously forced.

The tense atmosphere only seemed to intensify and the wind almost seemed to get stronger. It was no longer a pleasant sound.

Shadow stood up suddenly, peering over the edge. Wind eyed him, curious but still pouting. Four was about to make their way over, to see just what the problem was when a monster’s cry echoed through the air. 

Shadow turned quickly, as though about to run when a mass of wings and swords flew past, the wind powerful and driving. The platform shook, and Four watched in horror as the two boys fell to the clouds below. 

* * *

Sky had been doing what he said he would. Headmaster Gaepora had said that Zelda was on the Surface, helping with getting homes built and safely getting people to the Surface. It was what Sky had been doing before leaving on his current adventure, he hadn’t gone back to the Surface since then. It was fine, he wasn’t bothered, it was just nice to be back home after so long.

And then there had been shouting, the conversation stopping immediately. Sky had glanced out the window long enough to see a black blur fly past. He cursed, running out the door and to the balcony on top of the Knight Academy. Aeraflos and Skytails littered the sky, Skyloft Knights chasing them down and fighting them off on the backs of their Loftwings. 

“Hey, Link!” 

Sky whipped around to see a familiar head of red hair, a smile already forming on his face at the sight.

“Groose!”

“C’mon already! We gotta help them fight these fuckers off!”

Sky laughed, nodding, and breaking out into a run as Groose took off. His lungs were already on fire, but he could hear the shrieking of townspeople in the distance and that was enough of a reason to keep going. He got to the nearest platform, jumping off of it and whistling loud enough to call out to his Loftwing. The bird came swiftly, Sky landing on their back easily and quickly gained speed.

“We need to hurry, Crim. These monsters shouldn’t be here.”

With a cry, the Loftwing shot through the air, Sky gripping onto their neck feathers tightly. He managed to get a good hold, grabbing for his sword with one hand, determined to get rid of as many monsters as possible. No one here had ever fought swarms of monsters like these, many of them had never seen an Aeraflos until now. Thankfully, he had.

Crim charged ahead, spiraling closer to the wall of monsters with a cry. Sky thrust his sword skyward, and the sounds of screeching, falling monsters was music to his ears. Their numbers were lessened, but not depleted, a few Aeralflos darting through the air and slashing at any Loftwing in reach. Keese were swarming solitary Knights, blocking their vision to force them within slashing range of the flying lizards.

“We need to pick up the pace. Come on, let’s join the rest of them.”

Crim nodded, flying upwards with a few beats of powerful wings. Sky kept his gaze trained on a group of the winged lizards tailing Groose’s bird, the redhead pushing his bird to fly faster to avoid getting injured. Sky let his Loftwing climb higher, the air almost dangerously thin, and then they plummeted, diving straight for the group.

Crim spiraled again, beak open with a screech while Sky kept his sword aloft and struck as many of them as he could, slashing their wings and letting them fall to the Surface below. They came out of the spiral easily, Sky briefly checking to see that Groose was no longer in danger with relief. An unfamiliar cry then met his ears, and he whipped around to find the source, hand locked around his blade’s hilt.

“What the fuck is that thing?!”

Sky turned to see a black beast, wings large and webbed, and eyes a deep red. The form was different, and yet, there was only one thing it could be.

“The Shadow.”

“Wait, it’s got something with it! Look at its claws!”

Sky’s eyes widened, two figures clinging to the beast’s claws for dear life. The unmistakable blue of Wind’s tunic made his blood run cold for a moment, only to turn boiling hot with rage. 

“Groose, you go and save those two, they’re part of my group!” Sky yelled, urging his Loftwing to fly towards the beast, “I’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.”

Crim gave a cry, beating their wings fast as they flew higher and higher. Sky didn’t have a plan, only to stop the beast before it did any damage to his home. That was all he could hope for. Sky could see Groose flying low beneath the beast, but it was only a matter of time until he was spotted and attacked himself. It was now or never.

“Aim for its eyes and I’ll handle the rest. Trust me, my friend.”

Crim cawed, gaining more height and diving sharply down. Sky gripped his sword tightly, the blade glowing blue the closer they got to the Shadow. When they were nearly on top of it, Sky jumped. 

He thrust the Master Sword downwards, blade positioned at the glowing red eye below him. With a yell, he landed on top of it, the beast screeching in pain as it beat its wings. Sky held on for dear life, the wind from the Shadow’s flailing almost enough to send him careening off its face. He only had a second to act, he could feel dark magic pulsing below his feet, so he pulled the sword out and jumped.

He landed safely on his Loftwing and looked over his shoulder to see the beast change forms, back to a familiar-looking Lizalfos. It glared at him, one eye sealed shut from the holy blade. He smirked, watching as the black Lizard cast its magic and disappeared into a portal. 

The monsters disappeared soon after, the magic that had sustained them vanishing the second the Shadow had left. Crim landed safely in Skyloft’s plaza, Sky immediately looking around for the rest of the Links and Groose. The plaza was crowded with Knights taking care of their wounded companions, though Sky noted that none were life-threatening, thankfully. Making his way through the crowd, he headed back for the Academy, seeing a familiar scruffy navy bird on the second-floor balcony.

Though his lungs protested, he ran the whole way there, climbing up the wooden staircase up to the balcony and breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of Groose with the rest of his group. 

“Everyone okay?”

“Made it out from under that weird monster safely, the two kids were shaken up but completely fine otherwise.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Sky smiled, seeing Four hugging Shadow tightly. 

Groose made his way through the crowd of Links, pulling Sky towards him into a hug. Sky in turn wrapped his arms around the taller, already feeling the stress of the fight, and the anxiety and fear that he felt during it make him shake ever so slightly.

“Everyone’s okay, Link, no one got hurt and we’re all safe,” Groose spoke quietly, gently rubbing Sky’s back, “We’re gonna head back inside, okay? I’ll have Henya make some tea for everyone to relax.”

Sky nodded slightly, feeling Groose lead him through the door and towards the mess hall. He faintly heard the rest of the group following behind and Henya speaking to Groose for a moment. Soon he was sitting beside Groose, a cup of warm tea in his hands and leaning ever so slightly into Groose’s side. It was nice.

* * *

Four was sitting next to Shadow though they so desperately wanted to hold him instead, just to know that he was fine. Seeing Sky freak out after seeing them all okay scared them, but a part of them understood exactly why he freaked out. He didn’t see Shadow or Wind fall, but he saw them in the beast’s grasp and that must have been terrifying enough.

They looked over to see Warriors with an arm around Wind, just being there for him as he shook and leaned into his side for comfort. Shadow may not have reacted the same way, but it was clear he was just as shaken by the ordeal. 

A few seconds passed, only the sounds of quiet drinking of everyone around them as they tried to recover from the battle. Shadow carefully placed his empty cup on the table in front of him, turning to Wind with an unsure expression on his face.

“I’m sorry about the whole, uh, getting mad at Wild thing,” he spoke, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“I forgive you, Shadow,” Wild said, smiling slightly, “It may have been a bit harsh, but it wasn’t a big deal. I’m just glad that you and Wind are okay.”

“It doesn’t feel like I’ve done enough…” 

Shadow frowned, Four placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s a good start, at least. Try not to worry about it, okay? You’ve been forgiven.”

“I understand why you got mad,” Wind spoke up, quiet and shaky, but loud enough for Shadow to look over in surprise, “It was dangerous and scary, so I understand, but it was a dumb thing to yell about. Wild forgives you for it so… I guess I forgive you too.”

Shadow smiled and the tense atmosphere lifted. Everything felt okay again.

_ 'We need to talk to Shadow tonight' _ a gentle breeze drifted through Four’s thoughts.

_ ‘We need to see him, for real and all of us together’ _ a warmth blossomed in Four’s chest.

_ ‘It’s about time we got to’ _ waves rolled through, quiet yet powerful.

_ ‘I think we’ve waited long enough,’ _ a firm and solid voice,  _ ‘Tonight when everyone's asleep, we’re going to talk to him face to face.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of my birthday, I'm updating this fic twice ^u^ The next chapter is coming soon.


	5. Midnight Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four takes Shadow to a secluded place and finally has the chance to speak

The Knight Academy was very accommodating to the group of heroes, making Sky’s old room bigger by taking out the false wall between his room and Fledge’s. Warriors and Wind took one bed, while Four dragged Shadow into the other one. Groose had led Sky to his own room, his arm never leaving Sky’s back. The heroes were exhausted, the adrenaline had finally worn off and everyone was just happy to have a safe place to rest for the night. 

One by one, the heroes nodded off, sleeping peacefully as the moon shone through the small windows of the room. Four hadn’t been asleep, at least not fully. Once enough time had passed that they deemed it safe to sneak out, they woke Shadow, motioning for him to be quiet and follow them out the door, the Four Sword strapped to their back.

The hallway was sparsely lit, the windows that were visible doing little to light the way upstairs. Four led the way, dragging a semi-awake Shadow upstairs and outside, back onto the balcony they had been on previously. There was a gentle breeze blowing, the clear sky showing the soft twinkling of stars creating a near dreamlike landscape. Four just took it all in, closing their eyes and breathing deeply.

“Hey, where did you want to go? Why the wake-up call?”

Four turned to face Shadow, smiling softly.

“You’ll see, now c’mon.”

Four grabbed the shade’s hand, leading the way to the deserted plaza and approaching the tower close to the edge. They started climbing, motioning for the other to follow. Four couldn’t help but roll their eyes when Shadow floated up behind them, leaning against a pillar as though bored.

“Took you long enough,” he smirked, Four smacked him in response.

The tower had a small platform, a mirror casting light into a section of stormclouds off in the distance. Four stood in the center of the platform, taking a deep breath as Shadow moved in front, a questioning look on his face. Four reached behind their back, hand wrapping around the hilt of their sword, and in one smooth motion, unsheathed it and pointed it skyward. A flash of light and one became four.

Shadow stared, seeing where his companion had changed into four all too familiar boys. He saw them look at each other and then he took a step forwards.

“So this is what you wanted to show me.”

A weight crashed into his chest, knocking him back a step, but he did not fall. He looked down to see a head of fluffy blond hair, face buried into his chest, and arms wrapped around him tightly. He smiled, wrapping the boy in a hug.

“It’s been a long time, Red.”

“We’re sorry it took so long to find a way to get you back,” Vio spoke, and _Hylia it was really Vio_.

“Don’t apologize, none of you should feel bad,” he responded, beginning to rub Red’s back, “I broke the mirror, it was my decision and none of it was your fault.”

“We’re just glad to have you back and that the rest of us can finally get to know you.”

Shadow smirked at Green, Vio smiling as he watched the scene unfold.

“Vio did hog all of the attention, huh? Did that make you jealous, Green bean?”

Green sputtered, trying to figure out how to respond as his face flushed with embarrassment, much to the amusement of Blue and Vio. Red shook with silent laughter, standing up and ending the hug with a happy smile. Shadow smiled back, looking from person to person and finally feeling a sense of belonging.

“I missed you all.”

Their laughter stopped, the four looking back with small smiles, relieved that everything was finally okay. Vio walked over, grabbing Shadow’s hand tightly and walking over to the edge of the tower that overlooked the wide expanse of sky. The rest followed, Red sitting next to Shadow and leaning against his arm, Green sitting near Red and looking up at the stars, Blue stood close by arms crossed but with a pleased smile.

“I’m glad that we could be together again and start over,” Vio leaned against his shoulder, Shadow watching as he relaxed fully, “this time, maybe we can avoid the whole sacrificing ourselves thing.”

Shadow laughed, startling Red and Green with the sudden sound though they giggled slightly soon after.

“If you die for us again Shadow, I’m bringing you back just so I can punch you.”

Shadow leaned backward, looking at Blue with an overly smug look on his face.

“I’m holding you to it, Blue jay.” 

He rolled his eyes, Shadow chuckling at the response. 

“Missed you, ya jerk.”

“Love you too.”

It was quiet now, the weight of two bodies pressed against him made him feel relaxed much more than he had been in a while. He hadn’t been out of the mirror for long, but something about this just felt right in a way he couldn’t explain. The gentle breeze that tousled hair and the way the starry sky shimmered and glowed made everything feel as though it were imbued with magic. He felt relaxed and yet energized, tired yet awake. He never wanted this to end, despite knowing that it would have to end eventually, especially as the sky began to lighten off in the distance.

“We shouldn’t stay out for too much longer,” Green sighed, disappointed, “We need to go back to the room with the others.”

“Already?”

Red latched onto Shadow’s side, Vio gripping his hand. Shadow could feel much the same way as Green nodded, Blue joining him back to the center of the tower unhappily. 

“Just a bit longer? Please?”

“Red, Vio, I promise that we’ll be able to split again to be with Shadow,” Green spoke, “but we need to be back before anyone notices that we’ve gone.”

“We’re still gonna be with him,” Blue tried to reason, and that seemed to put at least some of the disappointment at ease.

Slowly, Red let go, standing up and making his way to the other two. Vio lingered, holding on for a moment longer.

“I love you Shadow, and I’ll see you again like this soon.”

Vio spoke quietly, standing soon after, a final squeeze of Shadow’s hand as he stood with the rest of them. They raised their swords again, and a flash of light changed four back into one once more. Four stood in the center of the platform, eyes closed as they breathed deeply. As they opened their eyes Shadow could see a flash of each color, a final moment to fully reform.

“Promise not to mention them to the others just yet? I’m not quite ready to tell them about everything.”

Shadow nodded, making his way over and stopping just in front of Four. He leaned down slightly, hugging them tightly.

“Thank you for doing this.”

“Of course,” Four smiled, running a hand up and down his back, “they wanted to see you and we finally had a moment to do that.”

The walk back to the Academy was pleasant, the sky slowly lightening as the minutes passed, bathing the sky in purples and pinks. They took their time heading to the building, watching the night guard come back to the academy to switch out shifts. The Academy itself was near silent, the only sounds coming from the kitchen near Sky’s room. They quietly slipped inside, Four placing their sword back near the bed and getting under the covers. Shadow laughed quietly, wrestling the blankets away so he could get under himself. 

He was starting to drift off, the long day paired with staying up late to see the others finally catching up with him. He shifted slightly, getting comfortable in the bed when warmth met his back. He turned slightly, catching blond hair much closer than before. He turned around fully, laying face to face with Four, the smaller breathing deeply as they slept. Shadow felt the need to get closer, to wrap them in his arms and hold them to his chest, but he hesitated. He didn’t want to upset Four, or rather, to upset Red, Blue, and Green. So he settled for laying close, slowly falling asleep to the sounds of soft breathing beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to me, there's gonna be ships in this fic now ^u^ Back when I first started writing this, someone asked if Vidow would be here. Well, I'm here to tell you yes, there's Vidow... for now. Also, introducing my OT3: Sun x Sky x Groose. Not the main focus of this fic, but it's there.   
> I hope y'all enjoyed the double update, it was fun to write after so long. ^u^

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this little collection of ideas with Shadow joining the party. I love this boy so much, so I'll probably put a lot more chapters here. ^u^
> 
> Lastly, here's my Tumblr-s and Twitter, follow me for inconsistent writing, occasional drawing, and very rare posting:  
> https://silverdragonms.tumblr.com/  
> https://silverdragon-imagines-blog.tumblr.com/  
> https://twitter.com/SilverDragonMS


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